Ge Yi Art Museum

Ge Yi Art Museum

The Ge Yi Art Museum is located by the Wenfeng Pagoda in Nantong. Established in 1989, it honors the legacy of Mr. Wang Ge Yi, a master of traditional Chinese painting and a disciple of Wu Changshuo (Wu School). Mr. Ge Yi fully inherited the outstanding traditions of the Wu School art, exploring and refining his craft for over seventy years, earning him the title “Contemporary Master of the Wu School.” The museum houses over 200 paintings and calligraphy works donated to the Nantong Municipal Government by Mr. Ge Yi’s family in accordance with his last wishes, as well as precious collections of calligraphy and paintings by historical figures.

Wang Ge Yi (1897–1988), whose given name was Xian and courtesy name Qizhi, was a native of Haimen County. At the age of 16, he went to Nantong to study and developed a deep passion for poetry, literature, epigraphy, painting, and calligraphy. At 27, introduced by Zhu Zongyuan, he went to Shanghai to become the tutor of Wu Changshuo, studying painting, calligraphy, and seal carving under him and becoming his distinguished disciple. He served as a professor at the Shanghai Xinhua Art University, Soochow University, and Changming Art Specialized School, as well as a professor and head of the Chinese Painting Department at the Shanghai Art Academy. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, he held positions such as vice president and honorary president of the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy, council member of the China Artists Association, vice chairman of the Shanghai branches of the China Artists Association and the Calligraphers Association, vice president of the Xiling Seal Art Society, and a researcher at the Shanghai Research Institute of Culture and History. He was also a member of the Third, Fourth, and Fifth National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. He visited Japan three times and traveled to Singapore in 1985 to give lectures and hold exhibitions, promoting international cultural exchange.